


Lonely but not Alone

by ImmortalCoelacanth



Series: Red [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: A background plot is put in motion, Angst, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Ghost!Schlatt makes an appearance and is a bitchass motherfucker, Immense amounts of angst, It isn't too detailed, Possessed!Quackity is the perfect vessel for angst, Tubbo is sad and full of regrets, mild strangulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27981621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmortalCoelacanth/pseuds/ImmortalCoelacanth
Summary: Alone and full of regrets, a ghost from Tubbo’s past makes an appearance.
Series: Red [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049846
Comments: 7
Kudos: 61





	Lonely but not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I hate how my brain hyperfixates on new media/ideas and refuses to leave me alone until I write it out, but at least I get some good angst out of it!
> 
> Also, let it be known that I’m pretty behind on the streams and info (the wiki is a blessing) and I haven’t really watched any of Tubbo’s streams, so I apologize if the characterization is off! Quick reminder to double check the tags as this is an angst fic!

L’Manberg was… quiet, but that was not unexpected given everything that had recently happened. The preparations for the upcoming wedding, the continued reconstruction of the damaged nation, and… 

Tommy’s exile. 

How much time had passed since then? Hours? Days? Tubbo honestly was not sure. Everything seemed to blur together, a mixture of stress, sorrow, and the struggle of trying to feel like everything was okay when it clearly was not. 

He felt so, _so_ tired. 

Exhaustion weighed on him, dragged him down and occasionally made the words spoken to him by his friends sound muffled and incomprehensible. His brain felt like soup, sloshing around in his skull as he listlessly completed each task set before him. Conversations about reconstruction, about political affairs and new battles that were breaking out. 

More pointless death and destruction that he, and he alone, had to prevent. 

Tubbo sighed and leaned against the nearby building, placing his head in his hands. There were so many choices he wished he could take back, so many decisions he regretted making. 

He missed Tommy. 

_He missed his family._

Wilbur was dead and Ghostbur had forgotten so much. Tommy was gone, exiled before ruin was brought to L’Manberg _again_ and innocent people suffered because of his actions. Techno, a criminal, and a threat to both L’Manberg and himself-

_His older brother silhouetted in the cold moonlight. The silence of the crowd, Jschlatt’s shouts and demands for his blood to be spilt, his life to be_ **_ended._ **

_Why? Why did this have to happen?_

_I don’t want to die._

_Please._

**_Please-_ **

The harsh, sudden stinging of his cheek snapped Tubbo out of his spiraling thoughts, and he hesitantly lifted a hand to touch the aching spot. His hand hurt, too, but that was nothing. He was used to everything hurting nowadays. 

His mind, from all the thinking and planning. 

His throat from the constant talking. 

_His heart from the constant breaking-_

With every fiber of his being, he wanted nothing more than to be hugged. For someone, anyone, to show up and wrap their arms around him. To promise that everything would turn out okay. That when he next saw Tommy, his brother would not hate him-

Phil, he missed Phil _so much!_

This would be the perfect moment for Phil’s dad instincts that he had honed over the years to activate, causing the man to randomly appear out of the shadows to give him the reassurance and comfort he so desperately craved. 

Feeling hopeful that his wish might be granted, Tubbo looked up and let out a disappointed sigh upon seeing that no one was there. Still all alone, his family scattered, and his friends-

“Why hello there.” 

“Quackity!” Tubbo yelped as he spun around, a hand clutching at his chest as he faced his companion. “Big Q! You scared me! And… you sound different.”

He also _looked_ different, Tubbo realized. Dressed up in a suit that brought back far too many negative memories, something about Quackity just seemed… _off._ He was so still, so stiff, so… _emotionless._

It was as though the smile stretched across his face was fake, plastered on for some unknown purpose. 

Unconsciously, Tubbo took a step back, discomfort with the situation rising. Just before he could ask Quackity what he was doing here, and if he was okay, his friend, _could he still call him that,_ stepped forward and spoke. 

_“Are you happy, Tubbo?”_

But it was not Quackity’s voice he heard. 

Eyes growing wide as horror coursed through him. The seeming calm, casual tone those words held. That familiar, _scheming_ smile. Even the suit was reminiscent of-

_No. No._ **_No no no no-_ **

_“What’s the matter?”_ The possessed Quackity laughed as his shadow stretched out behind him, growing longer and taller, Sprouting horns and a set of scorching red eyes. 

_“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,_ **_pal.”_ **

“Y-You’re not real!” Tubbo exclaimed as he backpedaled, tripping over his feet and roughly landing on the ground. “You’re _dead!_ And not like Ghostbur! You didn’t come back!”

_“Oh, Tubbo, Tubbo,”_ Schlatt chuckled as his shadowy form slithered across the ground, looping over the younger man’s legs and preventing him from moving. _“I knew you were stupid, but you can’t be_ **_this_ ** _stupid.”_

Tubbo shuddered, his fingers clenching and forming fists as he desperately looked around for someone, _anyone_ who could get him out of this mess. Alas, he was still alone, trapped with Schlatt. 

… Trapped, unless someone was drawn to his location!

He quickly inhaled, but before he could start screaming, a pair of hands wrapped around his throat. 

“Ack-”

_“C’mon, we just started our chat. I can’t let you end it so soon.”_ Schlatt chuckled, squeezing tighter. Tubbo thrashed, lashing out at the shadow in a desperate, and ultimately futile, attempt to free himself. 

His vision was spotty, going dark. He felt light headed. His throat hurt. He couldn’t scream. 

_No, no-_

_Can’t die here, won’t die here._

_Have to apologize-_

Suddenly, Schlatt let go, and Tubbo collapsed. He crumpled up on the ground, body shaking as tears rolled down his face. He shuddered and wheezed, the occasional cough escaping him as he struggled to get control of his breathing. 

_“Now that we don’t have to worry about any interruptions,”_ Schlatt continued, the shadows wrapped around Tubbo’s legs tightening briefly and making the younger man cringe. _“I can offer you my congratulations on your victory.”_

He felt himself pale upon hearing Schlatt’s words, and he shuddered before quickly shaking his head. 

Victory? How could such a hollow title as being President be considered a victory compared to everything he had lost to get here. His family had been torn to shreds and scattered, his friends fought with him, argued about the choices he had made to protect L’Manberg, leaving him feeling so alone and isolated. 

With each passing day, it was becoming more obvious that he had _lost._

His anguish was obvious to Schlatt. Schlatt, whose devious smile grew wider as his red eyes burned brighter. _“Aw, now don’t be like that! You should be proud! You’re keeping Manberg safe, got rid of Tommy-”_

“I didn’t want that.” Tubbo muttered, pushing himself upright as he dug his fingers into the chilly grass. “I didn’t _want_ him to be exiled-”

_“How can you be so sure?”_ Schlatt cooed, his hands resting on Tubbo’s shoulders as he leaned forward and smiled at the younger man. _“You got rid of a threat, to Manberg, and to you-”_

“He’s not a threat! Not to me!” Tubbo shot back, his sorrow turning to anger in an instant. “Besides, it was to keep him and everyone else safe-”

_“You threw him out into the cold with just the clothes on his back. You haven’t visited him, and you’ve allowed Dream to do whatever he wants-”_

“I can’t stop Dream! I-I can’t control him, and if Tommy _hadn’t_ been exiled then L’Manberg would be trapped behind a wall of obsidian, and he’d probably be dead!”

Schlatt let out a disappointed sigh as his fingers, now claws, dug into Tubbo’s shoulders, making the younger man cringe in pain. _“Oh Tubbo, Tubbo,_ **_Tubbo._ ** _You and I both know that’s not why you got rid of Tommy. He was a threat! He could’ve taken over Manberg, and you know he would’ve!”_

“That doesn’t _matter!_ I wasn’t-”

_“Oh, but you_ **_were._ ** _You can lie to the others and you can lie to yourself, but you_ **_can’t_ ** _lie to me.”_ Schlatt hissed. _“Surrounded by rats and_ **_traitors._ ** _How long do you think it’ll be before you’re hung, huh? Do you_ **_really_ ** _think they won’t turn on you?”_

“Of course they won’t! They’re my friends-”

_“Friends? You threw your BROTHER out of Manberg!”_ Schlatt threw his head back and laughed. _“Are you stupid enough to think they’d care about something like that after what you did? Why would they EVER want to stay friends with you?”_

Upon noticing how silent the younger man was, obviously processing what he had said, the shadow decided to keep going. 

_“Face it! You protected_ ** _yourself_** _and_ ** _your throne._** _Nothing more, nothing less, and they’ll see it that way. They always will!”_

“Fuck you-” Tubbo spat before he was cut off by Schlatt reaching out and snagging his suit, twisting the front so the sides of the formal attire dug into his neck. He let out a strangled gasp as he was dragged upwards, lifted so he was finally back on his feet. He scratched and clawed at the shadowy hand holding him up and, after a moment full of struggling, was dropped, allowing him to stand. 

But that did not mean Schlatt was done with him just yet. 

Before he could escape, or scream to alert someone other than the catatonic Quackity to his predicament, the shadow coiled around him once more so Schlatt was hovering over his shoulder, face close to his own. 

_“Besides,”_ Schlatt said, the air in front of the pair churning and whirling, a mirror formed out of darkness, and in its reflection was Tubbo. 

Suit wearing, horn bearing Tubbo. 

_“Soon you’ll be_ **_just like me-”_ **

_“STOP IT!”_ He shrieked, hands clasped tightly over his ears as he hunched over, eyes screwed shut as tears leaked out of the corners. _“I’M NOT YOU! I’M NOT LIKE YOU! JUST SHUT UP! SHUT! UP-”_

He halted in his wailing as he felt someone touch his arm. He violently cringed backwards, looking up to see-

Quackity, suit and ghostly shadow gone. Even the strange mirror was nowhere to be seen. He looked perfectly normal, and concerned. 

_Scared._

As if _Tubbo_ had been the one acting strange with all the crying and shouting, as if he was unaware of Schlatt’s brief yet painful presence. But… Quackity _had_ been possessed, right?!

Schlatt had been here, _right?!_

The… the ghost had to have been! There was no way he had made something like that up! It was real, it _had_ to be real!

He… he wasn’t crazy, Tubbo wasn’t crazy. 

He was fine, perfectly fine. 

There was no way he had _hallucinated_ Schlatt tormenting him, that was impossible!

He wasn’t crazy!

A high pitched, borderline hysterical giggle escaped him before he slapped a hand over his mouth, a desperate attempt to contain the noise, and one that had ultimately failed. He looked up and noticed that Quackity had taken several steps backwards, putting more space between them. 

Schlatt’s words from earlier reverberated in his mind. 

_Why would they EVER want to stay friends with you?_

Why, indeed. Could he still call his friends, _friends?_ Would Tommy still call him brother after everything that had happened? Would he have anyone left to be there with him?

_Would he wind up like his predecessor?_

Unnoticed by Tubbo, Quackity had continued moving backwards, step by step, until he felt he was far enough away from the clearly disturbed President. Once he felt there was enough space between them, he decided to speak up. 

“Okay, I’ll… uh… _seeyouaround!”_ He squeaked as he spun around and swiftly walked away from the crying man. Just as Tubbo was finally left alone, that painfully familiar voice whispered in his ear one last statement. 

One unfortunate promise. 

_“I’ll be watching you,_ **_Mr. President.”_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Welp! I’ve already fallen headfirst into this mess and have several ideas, AU concepts, and other fun, angsty stuff! As if the fandom didn’t have enough angst already! At least this gives me the perfect opportunity to let my inner angst gremlin fly.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading!
> 
> \- ImmortalCoelacanth


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